Sunday, 13 July 2008

The news

The father of a 17-year-old girl who was fatally injured in a collision with a cyclist has said it is "laughable" the man has only been fined. Mick Bennett said Jason Howard should have faced manslaughter charges and been jailed for several years over Rhiannon Bennett's death in April 2007.

Howard was an "arrogant and vile little man", Mr Bennett said outside court. Howard, 36, of Buckingham, was fined £2,200 on Tuesday after being convicted of dangerous cycling in the town. During Howard's trial, Aylesbury magistrates heard Howard had shouted at Rhiannon to "move because I'm not stopping" before crashing into her.

The case of Jason Howard generated a lot of commentary, much of it on traditional lines.

As greater numbers of cyclists take to the roads, are they becoming more irresponsible? plaintively asks the car supremacist BBC (Top Gear but not a single programme about urban walking or urban cycling).

Hugh Bladen, from the Association of British Drivers, certainly thinks so. "They are a rule unto themselves, to put it bluntly," he said.

(But then the laughably unrepresentative ABD is a tiny collection of petrolhead nutters and climate change deniers.)

Road safety officer Martin Cook, from West Sussex County Council, said growing numbers of bikes on the roads had sparked "very strong feelings" among people. "There are groups who feel there should be a lot more engineering to facilitate for cyclists and others who feel cyclists shouldn't be on the road," he said. "It's about trying to find the common ground with the two."

(No, it isn’t. Those are false alternatives.)

Richard Morrison:

Few motorists seem to understand, let alone sympathise with, the chief reason why cyclists appear to swerve erratically: the potentially life-threatening ruts and potholes on many roads. Why should they understand? In the cushioned safety pod that is the modern automobile, the driver doesn't even feel the bumps. In a country that gives such priority to motorists, is it desirable, even possible, to cycle “responsibly”? If I added ten miles to my journey each day, I could probably do the whole trip along quieter, meandering backstreets. But I haven't got all day. So I commute along the quickest route: the A-roads. Here, if I cycle “responsibly”, I will share the road with thundering juggernauts and white-van maniacs.

More crap walking:

The partial pedestrianisation of Parliament Square, designed to make London a glorious city for Olympic visitors has been axed.